Looking to buy a used Z4 for the first time - advice needed!

[rosswat1]

Hi there,

Looking for some advice as I look to purchase my first Z4 - hopefully I have come to the right place!

I’m currently looking at a 20i M Sport, around the years 12-14.

I have a couple of viewings booked in, including of this one (attached pics) on Sunday.

I think it looks amazing - but I have a few concerns - namely the darkened rear lights, windows, and it looks to have been de-badged of the Z4 on the back.

As I’m new to the Z4 world - I wondered if there was a way of gauging what is factory and what May he aftermarket/what may have been altered?

Understand this is a minefield but hopefully you understand where I’m coming from!

Cheers,

Ross

[B21]

Welcome ..many opinions offered here..plus advice

When looking at E89s of that age mileage, service/MOT history and BMW factory options are key determinants. It’s got it’s OE whippy

Tinted glass / rear lights may point to a boulevard cruiser…no bad thing…

Of course in the flesh the truth comes out..posting high quality pictures allows armchair pundits to proffer views..

Many folks de-badge their Z4s. Both rear and I see on this sides..

N20 powered E89s pre 2015 have a chequered cam chain history.

[mr.tourette]

All that you are mentioned are mods.. It also looks debadged on the wings.. Not an uncommon mod.. Not sure if its an LCI car but it also has LCI indicators which are a nice touch, the tricolour grills are also easily removable.. There's nothing in the two pics that is unduly concerning imho

[rosswat1]

Thanks both, appreciate that. Like you say, will have a good look around on Sunday and report back.

Never truly know until you get behind the wheel and have a poke around.

Excuse my ignorance - what’s LCI? Apologies if that is a dumb question haha

[True-Blue]

If you’re set on the 4 pot turbo, Google N20 cam chain. I’d budget circa £1k to have the required bits replaced to avoid the risk of the engine eating itself at some point.

It’s not an easy ‘do at home’ job as a number of specialists tools are required

[tiglon]

Welcome to the forum.

The rear window and back-halves look tinted, as do the rear light clusters and rear central brake light - all of that will be aftermarket as will the debadging. All easily reversed if you'd prefer it standard.

Black front kidney grill is not standard, but could be genuine BMW as they did make them in black.

M Sport stripes on the front grill are aftermarket too. Again, all of that is easy and cheap to revert if you wish.

The black side indicators are almost certainly painted, BMW have only ever offered them in chrome.

To me it looks quite tastefully done. If I were you I'd try to find out if it's been remapped or if there are any other non-visual mods.

[rosswat1]

Thanks all. Re the cam chain, does it happen around a certain mileage as a general rule? Or is it an age thing?

To be honest from the pics, I really like how it’s been done.

Any red flags I should particularly look out for other than the obvious?

[rdm05z4]

Welcome! While I am not familiar with this model. As mentioned, a good maintenance history is important. What I would do is beside this site google the make, model, and year for any known major issues. Cars can be polished on the outside but have issues under the skin. Also maybe a member here if in the area can go with you to look the car over? Whatever you decide good luck.

[Zedebee]

Thanks both, appreciate that. Like you say, will have a good look around on Sunday and report back.

Never truly know until you get behind the wheel and have a poke around.

Excuse my ignorance - what’s LCI? Apologies if that is a dumb question haha

LCI stands for Life Cycle Impulse, which is BMW marketing speak for mid-life refresh. So for the E89 you can have pre-LCI, which carried forward engines from the E85/6 generation, or post-LCI which moved onto 4-pot / 6-pot turbo engines. I know very little about this generation of Z4, there were probably a load of cosmetic changes as well.

[B21]

Thanks both, appreciate that. Like you say, will have a good look around on Sunday and report back.

Never truly know until you get behind the wheel and have a poke around.

Excuse my ignorance - what’s LCI? Apologies if that is a dumb question haha

LCI stands for Life Cycle Impulse, which is BMW marketing speak for mid-life refresh. So for the E89 you can have pre-LCI, which carried forward engines from the E85/6 generation, or post-LCI which moved onto 4-pot / 6-pot turbo engines. I know very little about this generation of Z4, there were probably a load of cosmetic changes as well.

The 4 pots were brought in pre LCI..only the 18i version of the N20 was linked to LCI…the car is an LCI version..there were very few cosmetic changes..side indicators, headlights and bezels around some centre panel switchgear.

6 pot turbo was pre LCI also.

Ref N20 camchain…

Generally they tend to go post 75k miles…engines with infrequent oil changes ie standard BMW service pattern and those with stop start are the worst affected.

My checklist would include..

What make are each tyre…what condition are they in, what sizes are they

How do the discs look..rusted, pock marked, signs of scoring , lips

Operate the roof fully open and then close with the engine not running

Operate all the switches, check heated rear window all bars work

Check engine bay for condition general appearance

Boot check inside cover, is it loose, does it look like it’s been riveted

Check each seat for smooth action, does it have heated seats..check…personally I wouldn’t buy Z4 without heated seats..

Unless you are handy with spanner’s etc go on condition….

[Pondrew]

The tinting of the rear lights, rear window and especially rear reflectors could be cause to fail an MOT if the tester wanted to (depending on the shade and what mood they were in at the time). Also tinting is a good excuse for plod to pull you over if they were bored.
Wheels painted black can be done to hide damage.
Don't think it's been mentioned but the LCI (face-lit in old money) was from March 2013, so all cars made after that will be LCI.
Here is the same car without the 'stuff' for comparison, although mine has 19" wheels, that one has 18".

IMG_8116.JPG (124.94 KiB) Viewed 555 times

IMG_8084.JPG (88.14 KiB) Viewed 555 times

[True-Blue]

The tinting of the rear lights, rear window and especially rear reflectors could be cause to fail an MOT if the tester wanted to (depending on the shade and what mood they were in at the time). Also tinting is a good excuse for plod to pull you over if they were bored.
Wheels painted black can be done to hide damage.
Here is the same car without the 'stuff' for comparison, although mine has 19" wheels, that one has 18".
IMG_8116.JPG
IMG_8084.JPG

The first two characters of your number plate are my initials…….

This obviously won’t make sense to anyone but us

[Pondrew]

The first two characters of your number plate are my initials…….

This obviously won’t make sense to anyone but us

Fate??

[DevonPaul]

Apart from the usual - service history, tyre brands, does everything work as it should, the questions to ask yourself are..
1) Do I want a modified car
2) Are these the mods I want.
3) Does the price reflect the cost to change the mods I don't want back to standard.

If the answer to any of those is "no" then walk away otherwise you'll spend time and money putting something back to match a car that you can buy elsewhere.

[Rockhopper]

Tints on windows to the rear of the B pillar can be as dark as you want.